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Former CNN Chief anchor Bernard Shaw died Wednesday in a Washington, DC, hospital due to pneumonia. CNN’s chairman and CEO, Chris Licht, confirmed the news in a statement.
Nicknamed Bernie, he reported for the outlet for more than a decade. The groundbreaking anchor joined CNN when it first launched on June 1, 1980, becoming its first chief anchor. However, the Chicago native was in the Marine Corps for four years before pursuing journalism. He eventually snagged his first journalism gig as a radio reporter in Chicago, where he got to interview Martin Luther King Jr.
Shaw then went on to cover politics for CBS from 1971 to 1977, his first TV job. From 1977 to 1979 and as a Latin America correspondent for ABC. He witnessed and covered some of the most significant moments in history during his time with the cable news channel.
The fearless 82-year-old journalist covered the Tiananmen Square student protest in May 1989, the 1984 earthquake in California, Princess Diana’s death in 1997, and the 2000 presidential election. Dubbed one of the “Boys of Baghdad,” Shaw even reported on the beginning of the Persian Gulf War from a hotel room in Iraq.
“Even after he left CNN, Bernie remained a close member of our CNN family, providing our viewers with context about historic events as recently as last year,” Licht said in the statement. “The condolences of all of us at CNN go out to his wife Linda and his children.”
According to a statement from CNN’s former CEO Tom Johnson, Shaw “exemplified excellence in his life” and became known as a reliable journalist.
“As a journalist, he demanded accuracy and fairness in news coverage,” Johnson said about Shaw. “He earned the respect of millions of viewers around the world for his integrity and independence. He resisted, forcefully, any lowering of ethical news standards or any compromise of solid news coverage. He always could be trusted as a reporter and as an anchor.”
The legendary journalist received awards to acknowledge his impeccable reporting skills. He became the first non-German to win the Eduard Rhein Foundation’s Cultural Journalistic Award. Shaw was also inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame. After announcing he was departing from CNN, he won the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Broadcasting. The reporter left the network on Feb. 28, 2001. Six years later, he achieved the Chuck Stone Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Black Journalists.
Shaw’s family plans on having a public memorial service but is currently prioritizing a private service for family and invited friends.